1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for constructing and playing media data, more particularly to a method and apparatus for constructing and playing a sensory effect media data file that includes sensory effect information.
2. Description of the Related Art
The typical format of a media file may basically include a header portion, which describes the information of the corresponding media content, and a video data portion, which stores the media data in a compressed form. While the typical format of a media file described above can be used to store simple video data, it may not be suitable as a comprehensive structure for holding various types of media.
Accordingly, the international standards organization MPEG defined the ISO base media file format as a basic file format that can be commonly applied to various applications. The ISO base media file format is designed to store data, such as a compressed media stream, composition information related to the media stream, and the like, in multiple containers in a hierarchical manner. The ISO base media file format does not define encryption and decryption methods but rather defines a basic structure for efficiently storing encrypted or decrypted media streams.
As can be seen from HD broadcasting and 3D broadcasting, not to mention IMAX and 4D movies, there is a growing interest in methods for providing more realistic videos, in industries related to video contents. In order to allow the user to become immersed in a video content and feel as if he/she is one of the characters in the story, it is necessary not only to provide visual and auditory engrossment but also to maximize engrossment via stimulations of other senses such as the olfactory and tactile senses. To do so, it is necessary not only to provide higher levels of visual engrossment, such as by the ultrahigh resolutions and 3D displays, and higher levels of auditory realism, such as by 3D audio displays, as for existing video contents, but also to apply adjustments to sensory effect metadata (SEM), such as lighting, wind, temperature, vibrations, movement, tactile feels, scents, etc., in a manner suitable to the user's viewing environment and thereby maximize the engrossment with the video content. Broadcasts or video contents that stimulate the user's five senses by thus utilizing sensory effect devices in the user's surroundings are referred to as sensory contents or 4D media.
Existing 4D media using SEM is difficult to create, since the audiovisual content data and the SEM are separated, and it is thus difficult to effectively store, exchange, manage, and play the media. Prior art related to this subject includes Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2012-0106157.
Thus, there is a need for more research regarding methods for effectively storing, exchanging, managing, and playing 4D media.